Findus denies prior knowledge of horsemeat scandal

The firm added that is was not invited to today's Defra summit on the crisis.

Findus want to be absolutely explicit that they were not aware of any issue of contamination with horsemeat last year.

They were only made aware of a possible August 2012 date through a letter dated 2 February 2013 from the supplier Comigel. By then Findus was already conducting a full supply chain traceability review and had pro-actively initiated DNA testing.

Findus did not receive an invitation to this summit. However they are aware that the Food and Drink Federation, of which they are a member, will be attending.